This is the final email in this chain - I know you are all sad :-)
I am back already, (and at work) but I thought I would tell you about our final days in Israel
After my last email Ralph, Antonov, and I went to grab some dinner. We have passed by a really cool lounge called Mambo that was on the beach really close to our apartment and decided that it was time we checked it out. You guys will not believe it - they had salsa dancing. It was incredible, we basically just stumbled into it. Antonov grabbed a beer and Ralph and I ordered sandwiches which would have fed a whole army - neither of us was able to finish even half of ours. Besides, we couldn't sit still and did a bit of salsa dancing. It was really crowded and hot, but lots of fun. I guess Salsa Dancing in Israel is only possible when you are not looking for it. It needs to find YOU. Later on in the night some guy went up there and did HORRIBLE karaoke. Someone took a spotlight and shone it on him the whole time. He was atrocious, but I think well known, since people originally cheered when he showed up. Regardless of his notoriety he basically killed the mood. By the time the Shaffies showed up people were slow dancing and the big screen TV was being prepared for the World Cup watching. I bailed but the rest of the group stayed to watch the game.
The next day we had a pretty big drive ahead of us. Fist order of business was a hike in the Golan in Yehudia. The drive took us about 3 hours and all we could have for lunch was the sandwiches that were sold on the spot. The boys were pretty sad about that. WE changed into our bathing suits and hiking wear and verified the trail that we would take. The Hike was supposed to take around 4 hours and was considered Difficult. we were warned that in some spots we would have to swim with all of our stuff in our hands. Awesome!!! The start of the hike was pretty easy. We walked through a field with Roman Ruins on either side narrowly avoiding the presents that the cows left behind for us. It was pretty hot but tolerable. After a while we got to go down about a million steps (this was the Masada experience all over again - but in reverse and shorter) As we neared the bottom of the steps we could hear yelling and screams of joy.
It was a waterfall!!! We quickly took off everything but the Tivas and bathing suits and went into the water. IT was cold and SOOOOOOOOOO nice after the sun grilled us for the 40 minutes or so of walking. The waterfall was beautiful and everything around us was blooming. There were pink flowers round the falls and trees everywhere. We really needed the shade. I got to go under the waterfall only once since it was pretty powerful and you really have to swim to get under it. I tried doing it again, but ended up swimming in place 5 feet from where I wanted to go. I guess swimming lessons for me wouldn't hurt. When we were sufficiently cooled off we continued the hike. It was basically bouldering. We had to negotiate our way between rocks - some were very hot from the sun. I have to say that the trail was very well marked. Eventually we got to a place that you have to swim across after going down some metal stairs that were jammed into the rocks.
Here we had to wait a bit since there was a camp of 16 year old boys - about 50/60 of them that was taking their time going across this thing. On the positive side though they had a rope and stretched it so that they could slide their backpacks from the top to the other bank without getting them wet. They offered to get our backpacks across in the same manner and we happily agreed. At first things went well with my backpack and the shaffies one, but when Ralph and Antonov's bags were on the rope someone on the other side let go of the rope and the bags were soaked. Fortunately Antonov's camera and phone were in a plastic bag and were not ruined. We swam across and found that we had another swim right away. This time we decided not to wait for the boys and went ahead of them. Sereja went fist and we gave him his backpack to swim across with. Then I went and we got the rest of the bags to me by swimming back and forth. on the other side - where the water was to the waist we formed a human assembly line and got our back backs across that way. Pretty cool huh?
That was the last of our swimming and being in the water. We got to boulder for quite a while in the shade(Thank god) It was really very cool but we had to hurry since the camp of boys was gaining on us and we just wanted to enjoy the nature and quiet instead of their shouts and 16 year old jokes. Antonov was especially bothered by them. He referred to them as Baboons (Litz I'm serious i didn't give him that word - he chose it himself Sheyla haunts us after all). We really had to hurry for the hike up the stairs (another Masada moment) Antonov took full charge and had designated resting points for us. He really wanted to get away from those boys badly. It was probably a 20 minute hike up, so we were pretty tired when we got up there. The last leg of the hike was easy through the fields and ruins again. But we had a great view and we knew that we were almost done. I'm proud to say that the 4 hour hike took us only 3 hours and 15 minutes with the swimming and the waiting for the camp and resting. Go Us!!!!
Our next stop was Mt. Bental right on the Syrian border. we crawled around an abandoned bunker at the top of the mountain and looked into Syria. It was so peaceful and beautiful up there. We hung out a little bit. It's amazing that we were allowed in the bunker. It was previously used by British soldiers. later we went to the gift shop and asked if there was a winery open nearby because we wanted to do a bit of wine tasting. The girl recommended one and we were on our way.
The winery was basically in a co-op. Everyone owns their own land but they share common interests so they work together a lot. At least that is how the co-owner of the winery explained it to us. When we drove up we saw a small farm petting zoo with a donkey chickens, ducks. hens, and even a peacock. Everything was made out of recycled garbage. Even the walkway was made out of broken ceramic bits cemented together. The owner explained how they made the wine and then showed us the dining room - made out of recycled bits again- that was supposed to look like it would in the Talmudic times. We also got to go down into the cellar - a bunker used by Syrians in the war of '67 BTW-to check out where the bottles are stored. The cellar was pretty empty since the winery is popular even though its very small. The woman owner is also a teacher and just does this in her spare time. they started opening up to tourists when their children started leaving home for the army. The husband is an artist who also makes jewelry and builds. The recycling is really his thing. Where people see garbage he sees a project. They even have space in their yard for people to bring them trash. We tasted the Merlot and bought some bottles. We wanted to eat too but the owners were leaving to see their daughter in a play of some sort so they couldn't feed us. They did recommend a good meat place called Meat Shos.
Meat Shos was an awesome experience. When we rode up to it we were a little worried since it was located in a fire house and looked pretty shabby from the outside. Inside was a different story. It was amazing. And the food was just incredible. The Shaffies and I split a sampler designed for 2 people and we were all full. Antonov had a 1 lb burger that he said was the best burger in his life. Ralph got a little unlucky though. He hates medium and rare meat so he wanted his steak well done. Unfortunately this was one of those places where the chef is insulted if you ask for well done because it supposedly takes away from the taste of the meat. The waitress told Ralph that there is no way in hell he will get his meat the way he likes is so he ordered chicken... and that's exactly what he got: a whole spring chicken with all the parts from neck to butt. Not exactly what Ralph had in mind when he ordered. He mutilated his dish until it no longer reminded him of the winery petting zoo. Once that was done the chicken was actually pretty good he said, but he still left a lot of it. The waitress clearly did not approve (no soup for you for one year!!!)
While we were eating we got a call from Misha that he was at his hotel and we promised to visit him. He was staying in Netanya with his birthright group. We were on the road a little after 9 pm and made it to Netanya by 11. Here are Misha's instructions of where he is as told to me by Olya. "We are in the center of the city by the beach. I am playing soccer with a green ball. There is a Pizza hut nearby" awesome right. Well, we found him with no problems anyway. I think we got incredibly lucky but there you have it. Misha grew out a beard since we last saw him and we made sure to complement him by asking if he's looked at himself in the mirror lately. He thoroughly enjoyed it. We only had time for a beer since he had to meet up with his group by midnight. It was cool seeing him and he was excited to be included in one of my emails. Here you go Misha, I hope it's everything you thought it would be :-) (shave the beard!!!!)
Out final day in Israel was one where we split up. Ralph went to the art museum and the beach, Antonov did shopping, Shaffies went to Ben Gurion's house, saw miniature israel and hung out with Sereja's cousin, I went to Yafo, the market and the beach, Antonov went shopping, and Ilyusha was still MIA visiting yet more family. It was just a relaxing day. We got our deposit back from the landlord and had our final dinner on the beach. The lounge was called Cheech Beach and it was the best one yet. They had really comfortable couches and chilled out music. And the food was incredible. The Shaffies came late and I bailed on them again since I wanted some sleep. (we had to get up at 1:30 in the morning to go to the airport)
We made it to the airport without killing each other - quite an accomplishment :-) Our flights were also pretty uneventful. On my flight from Milan to Chicago I sat next to a pretty cool girl who was visiting Chicago from Poland. She had a layover in Milan too. We talked quite a bit, esp in the last 3-4 hours of the ride. I found out that she is actually staying at Belmont and Clark - not too far from me. She took my number so maybe I will hang out with her. Pretty cool huh, I go to israel and make friends with a girl from Poland :-). Well that's all folks. The end of the "novel". I enjoyed writing it and getting your comments. I'm back in chi-town even though very Jet lagged still.
I will see you all soon!!!
Love,
Katya
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